Absolutely awful news this morning via TMZ: Empirestar Jussie Smollett was attacked late last night in Chicago, reportedly by two men in ski masks who screamed racist and homophobic slurs at him. The full details are even worse:

Around 2 AM [Smollett] was hungry and went to a Subway. We’re told when he walked out, someone yelled, ‘Aren't you that f***ot 'Empire' n*****?’ The 2 men — both white and wearing ski masks — viciously attacked Jussie as he fought back, but they beat him badly and fractured a rib. They put a rope around his neck, poured bleach on him and as they left they yelled, ‘This is MAGA country.’

This is absolutely vile, repulsive stuff. (TMZ also links to another article about a threat the actor received in the mail just eight days ago, suggesting this whole thing could have actually been a premeditated attack.) A statement from Chicago Police Department confirmed many of the worst details from TMZ’s report, including the rope, the racial and homophobic slurs, and the pouring of an “unknown chemical substance” on Smollett.

Thankfully, Smollett, who plays Jamal on Empire, was in good enough condition following the assault that he was able to go home from the hospital on Tuesday morning. Hopefully the men who are responsible for this are brought to justice very quickly.